Throughput not so varied from other comparable dual-bands. Frustrating setup with PPoE. Connectivity flakiness with Windows 7 client.

Bottom Line

TRENDnet's 450 Mbps Concurrent Dual Band Wireless N Router is a decent router with very good throughput that does not quite live up to the hype of being the only router on the market that streams 450 Mbps on both bands.

Setup and Connectivity IssuesThe packaging includes a CD that contains the user manual and a setup utility—when it’s launched you're presented with the option to open the user guide, register the device or exit the utility.

The setup wizards are available once you access the router's Configuration Menu via a browser. Like the router itself, the interface is dated looking with an eye-cramping small font. There are many features, including advanced settings. You get started with setup by launching the Internet Connection Setup Wizard, which is used to configure the WAN connection.

The wizard refused to pick up on my PPoE connection, which is unusual as most routers I test on the same connection can pick up the settings without any issue. I switched to my backup connection which is a WiMAX connection—the router was able to detect that for the WAN.

Next, I setup my LAN, wireless, and security. I found it annoying that in most instances the router had to go through a relatively lengthy reboot when I changed a setting, making setup that much slower of a process.

The wireless client's connection was flaky at times For example, Windows 7 reported that the client was connected at "Excellent" strength and that status kept changing to "limited access" and then would drop the Internet connection. This happened whenever I made wireless network changes in the router. For example, when I disabled security at one point and then reconnected back to the router, the connection strength plummeted. A firmware upgrade did not fix this bugginess.

FeaturesOnce I worked out the set up and connectivity kinks, I was able to focus on how many advanced features are in the interface. Each radio band supports up to four SSIDs—giving four distinct virtual networks. The router supports DMZ, virtual servers (a form of port forwarding—it differs from actual port forwarding in that virtual server can accept public ports and private ports to be different for forwarding), WMM QOS, and access control.

WDS (Wireless Distribution System) is also supported. This features sets up a wireless backbone across multiple access points in a wireless network. WDS is not to be confused with WPS, which is also supported. WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) connects devices to the router by pushing a WPS button on both the router and the device, or by entering a PIN number on the device.

There's no contextual help as you move through the interface to explain individual settings, but there is a link to a page within the interface that gives nicely detailed definitions of each configuration option.

PerformanceThe biggest news surrounding the (TEW-692GR) is the 450 MBps speeds at both bands. While Windows reported the router as connecting at 450 MBps, I used Ixia's IXChariot benchmark to get the actual throughput. TRENDnet's router still does not significantly exceed any of leading dual-bands on the market on the 5-GHz band although the throughput is quite good at 2.4-GHz when compared to other dual-bands. Here are benchmarks:

At 2.4-GHz:

The TEW-692GR has slightly better throughput at the 2.4 band than comparable dual-band routers. It also retains throughput well at distance.

At 5-GHz:

TRENDnet's router gave the second highest throughput with this benchmark testing. Still, for 450 Mbps capabilities the expectation is that it would meet or exceed Netgear's N750 which also transmits 450 Mbps at 5-GHz as well. Instead, it does marginally better than the Cisco Linksys E4200 which transmits at 450 Mbps and 350 Mbps.

I also tested the throughput using TRENDnet's compatible TEW-684UB wireless adapter. There was almost no difference in speed when using the on-board wireless adapter in HP's Elitebook laptop—a three-stream adapter.

Decent Router, Doesn't Live up to Hype TRENDnet's router has fine throughput, and can handle demanding chores like HD streaming. Yet this router, hyped as the only one on the market to stream 450 Mbps on both bands, does not give any more exceptional throughput than other dual-bands on the market and in fact, is still bested by Netgear's N750, the reigning Editor's Choice. The router's interface is rather primitive, lacking the user-friendly setup of Cisco Linksys or some flashier features like parental control in Netgear. Users can, however, very granularly tweak wireless settings.

Other than that, you aren’t getting any more than you would get with Netgear's N750 or Cisco Linksys E4200; in fact, you actually get less because of the problematic setup and connection issues with TRENDnet's device. It's a solid 3 star router. It’s not bad, but considering the buzz, it's a bit disappointing.

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Samara Lynn has nearly twenty years experience in Information Technology; most recently as IT Director at a major New York City healthcare facility. She has a Bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College, several technology certifications, and she was a tech editor for the CRN Test Center.
With an extensive, hands-on background in deploying and managing Microsoft Windows infrastructures and networking, she was included in Black Enterprise's "20 Black Women in Tech You Need to Follow on Twitter," and received the 2013 Small Business Influencer Top 100 Champions...
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